In years of famine and drought, their village even rejected fatty meat.

Chapter 118 Fading away

At the city gate, two unfamiliar soldiers, their swords at their waists, warily observed the pedestrians coming and going.

Beside the two was Zhang He, dressed in the uniform of a constable.

After being trained for a few days by the people arranged by Xu Zhiwen, Zhang He and his fellow refugees began to take up their posts. Zhang He and his closer brothers, such as Shouhou, became constables and police officers in the yamen, while the rest of the brothers were assigned to the city walls to serve as city guards.

Zhang He and his brothers were very satisfied with this arrangement. Just a few days ago, they were refugees who couldn't even get enough to eat. Now, they had a new life, were eating government food, could eat their fill every day, and even received a monthly salary. Their lives had undergone a dramatic change.

Of course, Zhang He also had his complaints, namely... he wasn't the only constable in the county government; there was another chief constable named Yuan Jiang.

Yuan Jiang had been the chief constable in the county government for several years, and his position was secure. Moreover, he was an eighth-rank martial artist, so his influence was far greater than Zhang He's. Apart from Zhang He's own brothers, all the other constables in the county government obeyed Yuan Jiang's orders, which meant that Zhang He, as the constable, could only command his own brothers, such as Skinny Monkey.

"I still need to become a martial artist as soon as possible!"

Zhang He sighed inwardly. Although Yuan Jiang was powerful, he had the support of the county magistrate. He, Zhang He, was not necessarily afraid of Yuan Jiang. However, the struggles in the county government sometimes depended not only on who had the backing but also on one's own strength.

Yuan Jiang's strength as an eighth-rank martial artist meant that the constables in the county government would trust Yuan Jiang more than Zhang He.

Therefore, Zhang He was particularly eager to become a martial artist as soon as possible, so that he would have the strength to fight against Yuan Jiang.

Another point is that Zhang He was the murderer who personally wiped out the entire Zhu family, while Yuan Jiang is a member of the Yuan family. Although Yuan Jiang has not yet found out who did the massacre of the Zhu family, once he does find out, he will probably not be able to escape his clutches.

In this situation, self-preservation became the most urgent matter for Zhang He.

"stop."

Just then, the city guards in front of Zhang He stopped a donkey cart. Zhang He glanced over and saw several men sitting on the cart.

The youngest-looking man among the men took out 10 copper coins from his money bag and was about to hand them to the city guard, but the guard waved his hand and refused: "The rules have changed. From now on, you don't need to pay an entrance fee to enter the city, but the goods will need to be inspected."

The impact of the last influx of migrants into the city served as a warning to all the people and dignitaries in the city. As a result, the inspection of people and goods entering and leaving the city has become much stricter during this period.

As he spoke, the soldier began to carefully inspect the goods on the donkey cart.

There's really nothing to check; the donkey cart just has a chicken coop and a dozen or so chickens inside.

only……

The soldier in charge of the inspection looked at the blood-red feathered chicken in the cage and couldn't help but ask, "Why is your chicken so unique?"

Although the soldier was a vagrant, he had seen chickens before. In his memory, most of the chickens he had seen had grayish feathers. How could there be a chicken with such blood-red feathers and such a small size?

"We caught this chicken in the mountains."

Chen Dao quickly explained, "This time we're transporting it into the city to sell to Master Li of the Fuhu Boxing Gym. We'd appreciate it if you could do us a favor, sir."

In order to enter the city smoothly, Chen Dao had to bring up Li Hu to vouch for him, but he did not notice that when he mentioned the name of the Fuhu Boxing School, Zhang He, who was standing behind the two soldiers, had a thoughtful look in his eyes.

"Are these goods sold to Master Li?"

The soldier inspecting the goods thought for a moment, then waved his hand and said, "You may go in!"

"Thank you, sir."

Chen Dao tried his best to act like a farmer's son, thanking them while having Chen Si, who was driving the donkey cart, lead the way into the city.

Zhang He watched Chen Dao and the others' retreating figures and muttered to himself, "The chicken sold to Master Li must be something special!"

Zhang He knew very well that the breed of chicken that Li Hu had taken a liking to was definitely not an ordinary chicken; perhaps... that chicken would be of some benefit to martial artists.

Eager to become a martial artist, Zhang He suddenly had the idea of ​​going to the Fuhu Boxing Gym to inquire about it later.

Within the county town, the impact of the migrants entering the town a few days ago has largely subsided, and most of the bloodstains on the roads have been cleaned up, with no trace of blood visible anymore.

But... in that turmoil, some lost their property, some lost their loved ones, and some lost both their money and their loved ones. Their grief may have been seen by some, or it may not have been seen by others. In any case...

As time goes by, grief will gradually lessen until it completely dissipates.

"There are so many people in the county town!"

Looking at the pedestrians coming and going in the city, Li Dadan couldn't help but sigh.

The situation in the county town was vastly different from that in Xiahe Village. Due to a lack of food and clothing, every household in Xiahe Village stayed indoors to avoid the cold and minimize food consumption.

In contrast, the county town was bustling with people, as if the cold weather had no effect whatsoever.

"There are still people selling steamed buns!"

Li Feng looked at a roadside stall selling steamed buns and said with a smile.

Chen Dao ignored their conversation and instead said to Chen Si, who was driving, "Let's go to Wu Han's house first."

Wu Han's exact address had already been given to Chen Dao; it was near the East Market.

Fifteen minutes later, the donkey cart stopped in front of a house. Chen Dao jumped off the cart and knocked on the door with his fingers.

"Who?"

A short while later, a slightly wary voice came from inside the door.

Chen Dao immediately replied, "Brother Wu, I am Chen Dao."

"Squeak!"

The door opened, revealing a smiling Wu Han: "It's Brother Chen! Come in and sit down, brothers from Chenjia Village, come in too, it's cold outside!"

Everyone followed Wu Han to the living room and took their seats.

Wu Han shouted towards the bedroom, "Wife, Brother Chen is here! Come out quickly!"

"coming!"

A short while later, a woman who looked to be around forty years old came out of the bedroom. Her eyes immediately locked onto Chen Dao, and she said with a smile, "You must be Chen Dao, right? Old Wu often talks about you to me. He says that if it weren't for your help, he would probably still be starving!"

"You flatter me, sister-in-law!"

Chen Dao responded with a smile, "Brother Wu has also helped me a lot."

"No no!"

Wu Han quickly waved his hand and said, "It's all because you, Brother Chen, think highly of me, otherwise how could I, Old Wu, earn so much money?"

Wu Han's gratitude towards Chen Dao was genuine. Chen Dao not only gave him an exclusive white-feathered chicken business, but also helped him successfully connect with the Fuhu Boxing Gym.